This invention relates generally to a traffic information display system that facilitates choosing a route for a vehicle and, more specifically, this invention relates to a system for displaying in color-coded visual format, on board a vehicle, information concerning the rate of flow of traffic on routes surrounding the vehicle. The system of the invention is particularly useful for users directing a land vehicle toward a given destination wherein a variety of routes may be available for such travel, but traffic conditions on one or more alternate routes may be more favorable than on others.
At present, many forms of traffic sensors and display systems are known. In the known systems, sensors are positioned along roads and set up to transmit information signals concerning traffic flow conditions. The transmitted signals are received at various locations where the information they represent is recorded and/or processed for further use. Some of the existing systems for processing or using such vehicular traffic information also make use of signals transmitted by the satellite-based Global Positioning System (G.P.S.). Some known display systems make use of stored signals for displaying road map representations of selected geographic areas.
However, none of the existing road and traffic reporting/display systems are known to provide real-time displays of current traffic conditions along selected and alternative routes in an area surrounding a vehicle. Existing systems are not known to include any provision for visual displays of traffic speed information that is specific to routes between the vehicle location and a destination selected by the user. And further, existing systems are not known to provide in any form, for identifying alternate routes that are preferable based upon comparative traffic speed conditions and/or travel time to a given destination.